Sorcerer’s Handbook

In the Abyss, Harvey glanced at the handcuffs on his wrists and looked at Ashe with an extremely resentful expression.

Lise said affectionately, “Look, this is what happens when you get involved with Ashe.” Though she didn’t say a word, everyone could understand Harvey’s frustration.

Ashe pulled at Lise’s face, “Stop narrating nonsense!”

Igor smiled faintly, “Harvey, you should think from another perspective. The Gospel Book already knows the crimes you will commit in the future, but it didn’t kill you on the spot. You’re already way ahead. Now it’s even rewarding you; you should be grateful to the Gospel Book.”

Ashe echoed, “Yeah, yeah, look, these handcuffs don’t even have a chain between them. The Gospel Book is already showing you leniency. You should reflect on yourself and become a better person.”

Harvey’s handcuffs had no connecting chain, so they didn’t count as restraining tools. Instead, they looked more like playful accessories. However, paired with his dark skin, they also resembled slave shackles.

The necromancer merely grumbled a bit. Someone like him, who liked to carry a coffin around, had an aesthetic as tough as marble and naturally wouldn’t care about the appearance enhancement brought by the handcuffs.

After a brief test, Harvey transformed into a mist spirit and began to flail around joyfully as if he’d gotten a new toy. He couldn’t help but float over to the coffin, excitedly tapping on the lid, “Alice, this form is really suitable for you. Once I figure out how to master this form, I’ll arrange it for you immediately. Hmm? You say you don’t like white mist? Then I’ll add a bit of variation and turn you into blue mist…”

Watching Harvey have an intense conversation with the coffin, everyone felt their sanity was being forced through a reality check.

“Alright,” Annan closed the Gospel Book, “we need to leave. We must find a safe place to rest quickly—Ashe’s injuries can’t be delayed any longer.”

“Please follow me,” Banjeet said, “I’ve already mapped out the route to leave this Abyss.”

The Funeral group walked along the Abyssal Passage. When Harvey finally finished his whispered conversation with Alice, Ashe asked, “So, did you change your mind, or were you lying?”

Harvey glanced at Ashe and then at Igor, “Are you asking me? Not Igor?”

Compared to the necromancer, it was obvious that the Con Artist was more associated with words like ‘changing one’s mind’ and ‘lying.’

“In the video footage, ‘you’ said that you create a large number of half-dead necromantic creatures because you love life deeply,” Ashe said. “But just now, you swore that you would never commit such blasphemous acts against life. So, either the future you changed your mind, thinking that turning the living into undead isn’t blasphemy, or the current you is lying and doesn’t actually hold this principle in your heart.”

“After all, the Weaving Festival doesn’t fabricate from nothing. It only predicts based on your existing behavior.”

Annan and Lise stared intently at Ashe, as if to ask, ‘So, what’s the deal with you and Qenna?’

Ashe wasn’t embarrassed at all, and he had no reason to be. He and Qenna hadn’t had any intimate interactions. At most, Qenna had licked his face… but there was blood on his face at the time, and he was Annan’s fiancé. Qenna’s level of contact with him was quite normal!

Harvey pondered for a moment and then shook his head, “I didn’t lie, and the future me couldn’t have changed my mind.”

“As long as I continue to practice necromancy, I will uphold the boundary between life and death. Necromancers believe that life and death are equally important, and this isn’t an empty slogan or some vague professional ethics.”

“After all, is there a difference between a corpse and a hunk of rotten meat? Why can corpses be turned into undead while rotten meat can only decay?”

“Because a corpse bears the marks of a person’s life.”

“Because the living experience joy and sorrow, endure hardships, and gain spiritual insights. After they die, most of these marks fall into the Abyss with their souls, but a small part remains in their physical bodies. What necromancers care about isn’t the flesh itself, but the information on the flesh and the time, mental energy, and various spellcasting powers embedded within it.”

“It is precisely because they tried so hard to live that their corpses can bloom into a more brilliant new life in the hands of us necromancers, transforming into the power of the living.”

“Think about it, any organization or Kingdom encourages its members to strive and fight hard, to live their lives to the fullest. Although the members will eventually die, their lifelong efforts transform into the organization’s strength and create a better life for the next generation… Isn’t this just like the Necromancy Sect?”

“It’s not just organizations or Kingdoms; the same applies to this world. We sorcerers will eventually face death and wash away all emotions in the Abyss, but we will leave behind pure memories and realms in the Virtual Realm, continuously thickening its depth and becoming the power for future living beings… Isn’t this also like the Necromancy Sect?”

“To me, the Virtual Realm is the mightiest necromancer, and the rules of societal operation are quintessentially those of the Necromancy Sect.”

“Would a farmer harvest crops before they are ripe? Would a chef serve half-cooked dishes to guests? Would a Kingdom stifle the aspirations of its youth?” Harvey spread his hands and said, “With that in mind, you should understand… Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Harvey felt a bit thirsty from speaking and turned to see everyone had stopped in their tracks, staring at him as if watching a cockroach transform into a jewel beetle.

After a moment, Annan suddenly asked, “What level of power does the Harvey in the footage possess?”

Banjeet replied, “Definitely not an Angel, but to wield the power of a Five Wings deity as a mortal, if not a legend, he must at least be in the Sanctuary.”

“Sanctuary or legend…” Annan exhaled. “Other aspects might be misjudgments by the Weaving Festival, but in this regard, its judgment is probably accurate.”

Their shock was understandable. As fellow sorcerers, they could clearly see Harvey’s current realm. If their Spellcasting Sect was still in the ‘spell’ stage, then Harvey had subtly touched the edge of ‘Truth.’

Harvey wasn’t treating necromancy as a mere tool but as a methodology to aid his understanding of the world and himself. In fact, every spellcasting sect is a path for sorcerers to explore the world outwardly and to seek themselves inwardly.

Even Ashe, the husky mixing in with the wolf pack of sorcerers, could vaguely sense this.

For example, with the Swordsmanship Sect and the sword Princess, it’s hard to tell whether her personality made her excel in the Swordsmanship Sect, or if the sect influenced her personality. But the result is that the sword Princess becomes increasingly sharp and decisive. After spending a lot of time with her, Ashe always feels that if he ever wronged her, she would stab him with her long sword without a second thought.

But most sorcerers find it difficult to realize this point, or even if they do, they can’t compensate for it. Unless you reach a high enough realm, you can’t see the vast scenery and can only guess a little based on others’ descriptions.

However, this doesn’t prevent Annan and the others from recognizing the grandeur in Harvey’s perspective. Because they can see glimpses of beauty themselves, they know that Harvey’s words about magnificence are not empty.

Now, the only things that stand in the way of Harvey becoming stronger are time, reality, and the Virtual Realm. For him, there are no longer any bottlenecks in the realm of spellcasting.

Therefore, Harvey can be sure that he won’t change his mind. The Necromancy Sect is almost like a political belief to him—if loyalty isn’t absolute, then it’s absolutely disloyal. If he were to change his mind, it would mean he found a more suitable Spellcasting Sect (methodology), and he would definitely abandon the Necromancy Sect.

“Could it be that the Gospel predicted it wrong?” Ashe muttered.

“Is it possible,” Lise, who was holding Ashe’s hand, said, “that Uncle Harvey was actually forced into it?”

“Hmm?”

“Like the question Dad asked me before: I have the lever to change the train tracks. If the train continues, it will run over five people, but if I change the track, it will only run over one person…”

Annan pondered, “So, no matter what you choose, it’s a bad outcome, and you can only choose the lesser evil?”

Banjeet looked at Ashe, “Is this what you usually discuss with Lise?”

Although his educational ability was being questioned, Ashe remained calm, “Compared to my question, Lise’s answer is actually more brilliant. She said she values fairness the most. Running over five people is unfair to the five, running over one person is unfair to the one, so running over everyone would be fair. Therefore, we should connect the two tracks.”

The young butler could only respond with high emotional intelligence, “The student surpasses the master…”

“Why don’t you guys just admit it? Are you really father and daughter?” Annan glanced at them, “I won’t blame you for keeping it a secret.”

“So, it’s highly likely that something will happen in the future that even Harvey can’t stand, which is why the Gospel thinks Harvey would rather create a necromancer Family to take revenge on society,” Ashe speculated. “Something so disgusting that even a necromancer can’t stand it… Harvey, do you have any idea what it could be?”

Harvey thought for a moment. “For example… if the Gospel Kingdom enforces mandatory cremation for everyone? Such a wasteful practice would indeed infuriate me.”

“Damn, that’s so you.”

However, they weren’t too concerned about the idea that ‘Harvey will become the source of all evil.’ Firstly, they knew this was the result of deceiving the Gospel, and secondly, it didn’t really concern them—Harvey wasn’t going to turn them into necromantic beings.

Ashe and the others didn’t count, as they weren’t even locals. As for Annan and Banjeet… when Annan had Ashe in a headlock earlier, she was only questioning why he was so close to Qenna. She had no complaints about Harvey turning Senhaeser into a mist spirit.

Compared to Harvey’s necromancy plans, they were actually more concerned about what future events could be so abhorrent that even a necromancer couldn’t tolerate them.

Additionally, one of the Blood Corpse King’s traits is “Immunity to Miracle Weaving,” which led Ashe to some peculiar speculations.

Watching Annan and the others discussing ahead, Ashe suddenly noticed that the Con Artist at the back of the group had been silently walking with his head down, not offering any opinions. He thought for a moment and then patted Lise on the back. “Go find your sister Annan. Make sure to hold her hand tight. If you fall into the Abyss, I won’t come looking for you.”

“Tch,” Lise pouted and went to grab Annan’s sleeve. “Auntie…”

“Call me sister,” Annan flicked Lise’s forehead.

Ashe slowed his pace to walk alongside Igor. Suddenly, he said, “I think you might be planning to run away.”

“Hmm?” Igor gave him a look that asked, ‘What nonsense are you talking about?’

“The Gospel probably thinks you’ll run off to another Kingdom in the future, breaking laws and causing chaos, which is why you didn’t appear in the footage,” Ashe said. “And didn’t you say you wanted to explore ruins when you have money? Harvey and I aren’t interested in traveling, so it’s natural for us to part ways.”

Igor glanced at him but remained silent.

“The other ranking lists haven’t been announced yet, so there might be a Ruins Exploration Ranking, a Conspiracy Ranking, or even a Mud House Gigolo Ranking. Then we can see your true colors…”

Igor still didn’t respond.

“Actually, the most likely scenario is that some rich lady took you in, so you no longer need poor friends like us… You get what I mean, right?”

Igor finally nodded. “I get it. You’re looking for trouble, aren’t you?”

“Hmm?” Ashe scratched his head. “I’m saying you don’t need to worry about why you didn’t show up in the Weaving Festival rankings. Even if your name appears in the next ranking list, it’s actually a good thing that you didn’t appear. Look at us; each of us has been framed and disgraced by the Gospel. You should be happy to be the Fish that Escaped the Net.”

So far, Annan, Ashe, and Harvey had all appeared in the rankings.

Among those who hadn’t appeared, Banjeet was already over sixty years old, so it was normal for him not to show up fifty years later. Lise was only about ten years old now, and as the saying goes, girls aren’t meant to stay with the family forever. It’s only natural that she wouldn’t be with Ashe when she grows up.

The only one who should have appeared but hadn’t was Igor. There was no trace of him in any of the ranking lists so far.

If it was previously suspected that Ashe and Annan might have had a romantic relationship during their private meetings, there was no reason for Ashe and Harvey to act together in pairs, right? Yet, only Ashe and Harvey appeared, and Igor was nowhere to be seen.

Although no one said it out loud, everyone thought of one possibility—

“Do you think I’m worried about dying?”

Ashe blinked. “Why else would you be moping around and not saying anything? Hey, being afraid of death isn’t something to be ashamed of. I won’t make fun of you for it.” He said, patting Igor on the shoulder.

“Hah, how could I possibly…” Igor paused, then suddenly laughed. “Okay, maybe I’m a little worried, but seeing you makes me realize I’m overthinking it.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you remember our Pact? You still owe me a wish. If I’m really facing a life-and-death crisis, I’ll definitely make you die for me first.”

Igor brushed Ashe’s hand away. “You better pray every night that nothing happens to me, or you’ll be in trouble too.”

Ashe suddenly remembered. “…Well, maybe not. What if you’re not around when you die?”

“Hmm, that’s indeed a problem. Look here.”

Igor snapped his fingers in front of Ashe’s eyes and said, “There, I’ve given you a psychological suggestion. If I die and my wish hasn’t been used, this suggestion will activate and use the wish on my behalf.”

Ashe rubbed his eyes continuously, as if trying to rub out the psychological suggestion like eye gunk. “W-what suggestion?”

“It’s simple. This suggestion will alter your memory, erasing all unnecessary ones.”

“What are unnecessary memories?”

“Memories unrelated to me,” Igor said with a smirk. “This way, your memory will only contain me, and you’ll mistakenly think I’m your most important companion. You’ll spend your whole life trying to find a way to bring me back from hell.”

“That’s actually possible!” Ashe was shocked but quickly shook his head. “Wait a minute, even if I only have memories of you left, that doesn’t mean I’ll want to resurrect you! Why do you think I would do that?”

Igor was taken aback.

Then the Con Artist laughed. “I’m just messing with you. There’s no such convenient psychological suggestion in this world… Even if there were, it couldn’t be cast by a two-wings sorcerer. I wasn’t talking because I was thinking about what to do in the future. After all, you and Harvey have caused such a big mess; even if I don’t want to, I’ll definitely get dragged into it.”

“R-really no suggestion?” Ashe was sweating on his forehead.

“I think whether I say there is or isn’t, you won’t believe me. How about this, I’ll use up the wish right now to alter your memory. Then you won’t suspect anything…”

“Then I won’t disturb your thinking!”